Page 74 of Second Chance Serenity

I go completely rigid. “Then we go get him.”

“You’re in no condition to be going anywhere,” Silas says, speaking up for the first time since they entered the room.

“Doc says I need to be on my feet.”

“On your feet, not in a fight. Michael, you nearly died. Do you understand how serious that is?” Lance questions.

“I’m not an idiot,” I snap. “But this guy came after Reyna. He’s the one who tried to kill me. If we stand a chance at getting him, we need to do it.”

“We need proof,” Lance says. “Even what we sent Carter isn’t enough. All we’ll do is let him know we’re on to him. As of now, he doesn’t know you and Reyna are back in Hope Springs. We plan to keep it like that.”

“You sent Reyna home though. He’ll have someone watching her house.”

“She’s at the Redding’s place,” Lance says. “The pastor and his wife agreed to host both of you until this passes, since if they’re watching her house, they’re going to be keeping an eye on your gym, the office, and our places.” He uncrosses his arms. “I’m sorry, Michael, but we need to do this right or this guy is going to walk.”

I know he’s right. I hate that he’s right. “You’re sure he doesn’t know we’re here?”

“You’ve been completely off the books since we got you into town. It’s possible that someone spotted you, but highly unlikely.”

“My family visiting would look suspicious.”

“Not since—according to hospital records and staff—they were here so your dad could get a checkup.”

I stare out the window, then walk over and take a seat on the edge of the bed. “How could Carter do this to her? If he knew this guy was dangerous, how could he not warn us?”

“That was my first question.” Based on Elijah’s expression, he wasn’t overly thrilled with Reyna’s brother’s explanation. “According to him, he never actually believed Carson would come after anyone. He’d believed that after he was put away, the entire operation was shut down. It wasn’t until you went missing at the banquet that he even suspected it had anything to do with the case since no one had made a move on him or his family.”

“Yet he had them under protection.” I shake my head.

“That was my argument,” Lance replies. “Carter behaved poorly. His reactions put you, Reyna, and their parents in jeopardy, and we can handle that later. Right now, we need to focus on getting you better and finding a way to get this guy for everything else.”

“I felt so helpless. So absolutely useless.” Since we’ve been back, I haven’t had a chance to process everything the past few days held for Reyna and me. And there’s a lot there. How broken I was. How I kept slipping in and out of consciousness, dreaming of war zones and all the times I let her down.

“What did you do? After you were shot. After the accident. When you were struggling…what did you do?” Lance asks.

“I prayed,” I tell him. “A lot. It’s all I could do.”

Lance reaches out and rests a hand on my good shoulder. “Then you weren’t helpless, brother.”

CHAPTER 24

Reyna

“You do not have to do that.” Kyra plucks a dirty cup from my hand and carries it into the kitchen.

“I don’t mind cleaning up,” I tell her with a laugh. “You both are doing so much for us.”

“Please. It’s the least we can do. You and Michael are practically family, you know that.”

It’s nearly eleven at night, and Michael is on his way here from the hospital. Kyra and Pastor Redding have made up both of their spare bedrooms so the two of us have somewhere to hide.

Hide.

It infuriates me that we aren’t allowed to go home. My bed. My sheets. My clothes. Here’s hoping it’s only temporary.

Kyra’s cell rings, and she answers it, then turns to face me. “It’s for you.”

“For me?” She nods and offers it to me. “Hello?”

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